A veteran Davao-based journalist says Vice President Sara Duterte’s commanding support in Mindanao traces directly to the memory of bridges, airports, and railways that rose across the south under her father’s “Build, Build, Build” program—and the region’s hope that she will bring it back.
Serafin “Jun” Ledesma Jr., a longtime Davao-based journalist and commentator, made the remarks during an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on May 9, painting a picture of a region that felt seen and prioritized under the elder Duterte—and has felt shortchanged ever since.
“Nung panahon ni Duterte, napakaraming project na naibigay sa Visayas at saka sa Mindanao in terms of bridges, airport upgrades, etcetera,” Ledesma said.
“Inaasahan naming mga taga-Visayas and Mindanao kung mabigyan ng ikalawang pagkakataon na magkaroon ng Duterte leadership, eh magkaroon naman kami ng fair share of the national budget,” he said.
He pointed to the defunding of the Mindanao Railway Transportation System—whose first segment was to connect Digos, Davao del Sur to Tagum—as one of the most jarring reversals of that momentum under the current administration.
Ledesma also flagged the stalled Davao City-Samal Island bridge project, which he said is facing funding shortfalls in its local counterpart component, as another symbol of promises made and not kept.
He said Mindanaoans had thrown their support behind VP Sara with the expectation that another Duterte in national leadership would mean a return of that same infrastructure attention and budget priority for the south.
“It’s not because of the popularity of Vice President Sara. She became extremely popular in Visayas and Mindanao on account of the government neglect,” he said.
Ledesma said the region contributes far more to the national economy than it ever gets back—a disparity he called “classic injustice.”
He argued that the growing anti-national government sentiment in Mindanao stems not from political partisanship but from the lived experience of watching projects get defunded and promises go unfulfilled.
“It’s purely government neglect,” he lamented.
